


the glorious, golden, and glad

by burningdarkfire



Series: yet is there hope (9 Worlds) [5]
Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Sports, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 09:45:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14399475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burningdarkfire/pseuds/burningdarkfire
Summary: 9 different worlds in which the 2 of them meet.fifth - an (e)sports anime AU, in which 2B plays ADC, 9S plays support, and they're the best collegiate LoL team in the country.





	the glorious, golden, and glad

“Yes!  Get ‘em!”  9S’s cheers rang out through Discord, his exuberant voice driving 2B on as she chased the enemy into the jungle, hopping over a wall to land the final blow.  “Nice!  Okay, now be careful, we can’t see anyone on the map, let’s just back and regroup.  You must have enough gold for the sword now right?”

“Right.”  2B retreated to a friendly tower and started her recall back to base.  She still wasn’t too sure what to make of her new partner, but he definitely had a lot of enthusiasm for the game.  It seemed like he was always filling the voice channel, either with long streams of observations and suggestions for gameplay or irrelevant chatter about the weather or this new YouTube video that she just _had_ to watch, it was _so_ funny.  Plus, had she seen this new Gru meme?  The peak of adorable hilarity, according to 9S.  He even photoshopped one specifically for her after one of their losses.  She didn’t laugh, but sent him an emoji and saved it to her phone.

But this game was going well, and they carried it through to the win.  They had a few minutes to themselves before their coach clicked into the voice channel, but as always 9S was already racing ahead trying to analyze their game himself before Pod could arrive.  2B could never understand it.  He would only have to repeat himself in a few moments.

“2B, Nines.”  Pod greeted them.  9S had insisted on changing his in-game name to match hers when they had started to play together, despite 2B trying to gently remind him that it was only a brief, temporary tryout.  “Distractions lower your chances of winning.”

“I haven’t even said anything yet!” 9S protested. 

2B could hear the grin in Pod’s voice.  “Nines, I can always already tell before checking the comms that I’ll have to remind you to keep the unnecessary nonsense to a minimum.  Consider it a proposal that’s always in effect.”

He groaned.  “Yeah, yeah.”

2B could hear clicking in the background as Pod pulled up the recording of their game.  “Okay then, new proposal: let’s turn our attention to the game now, shall we?  You’re making your debut in the tournament this weekend, Nines.  Let’s make it a good one.”

* * *

They crushed the tournament, as was standard.  2B was surprised when 9S swept her up in a hug, squealing with joy as confetti rained down on stage.  The rest of the team had been playing and winning for a few years – they were unquestionably the top collegiate team on the continent – and she supposed they had gotten used to the satisfied nods, the clasping of hands.  It was good to know that 9S gelled with everyone, that he fit into the team, but winning itself had never been too much of a question.

By the end of the weekend, she found herself constantly amused by 9S’s glee.  He drank in the attention of being on-stage, and then he would stop and try to talk to just about anyone backstage about how exactly their jobs worked, until 2B pulled him away apologetically.  He was always early and eager for a team meeting or media event, often popping at her and A2’s hotel room to talk about just how _wild_ everything was until they shooed him out to change.  They went out for a team dinner and he got so excited over the flame-pressed sushi, he forced everyone to stop and wait as he took pictures to upload on Twitter.  On the day of the finals, when a fan presented him with a teddy bear, 2B nearly thought he was choking, his gasp was so loud.

On the road back, 2B sat up front with Pod as he drove.  In the backseat, A2 dozed quietly.  2B had no doubt that in the other car, 9S and 6O were chatting up a storm while 21O shouted at them to please just let her focus on driving.

“He seems to be a good fit,” Pod said, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as he thought.  “A little over-eager, sure, but give him a little more training and experience and we can focus him down.”

“Hmm.”  She looked out the window at the passing trees.  “Agreed.”

A2 shifted in the backseat as Pod glanced over at her.  “Anything else?  You are the one he’ll be supporting if we go ahead with this.”

2B shrugged.  “He’s good for the team.  He boosts team morale.  The chatter isn’t so distracting when he knows how to give air priority to anyone else making calls.”

“Oh,” A2 said, suddenly leaning forward to grab 2B’s shoulder.  “My God.  Are you blushing?  Is our superstar player and captain fucking blushing?  Pod, that’s it.  Nines is in.  I vote for him.  So will everyone else when I tell them.”

“No, and that’s not a good reason to vote anyway!” 2B retorted, crossing her arms.  “We’re not even voting!  We can’t just decide a new team member by raising our hands and not having a proper discussion about it.”

A2 just laughed, and Pod raised an eyebrow at her, and 2B suddenly felt very outnumbered.

* * *

“Hey 2B,” 9S said, late one night when the two of them were the last in the practice room.  “I just wanted to say, it’s been great playing with you guys.  You really made the game fun again.”

“Fun?”  2B repeated, surprised.  It seemed almost incomprehensible that 9S had ever found anything _not_ fun; he was always so full of a bubbly energy.

“You know how it is.”  He waved a hand.  “It takes so long to grind to challenger and you’re just sitting in your room, alone, not really talking to anyone, just focusing on trying to get better by yourself as much as you can.  I used to do a little analysis even, but even that’s just like a spreadsheet and maybe a Skype call once a week.  It’s nothing like playing in a team where we get to see each other every day.  I’m really glad you guys picked me up, and you especially 2B!”

“It was a team decision,” 2B replied, when she couldn’t think of anything better to say.

“Oh, I’m sure.  I know that 21O loves me, even if she doesn’t say it, so she’d never vote against me!”  9S winked.  “Seriously though, I’ve never even had a consistent bot lane duo before.  It’s so different.  I’m happy to be your partner!”

2B looked down, suddenly flustered beyond belief.  The team was close, sure, and bonded frequently even outside of the trips to tournaments, but it was still rare to have such earnest emotion focused directly on her.  6O’s frequent complaining about her latest tinder dates couldn’t compare.  “I’m glad.”

As they were booting up for practice the next day, 2B snuck a glance at him as she sent him a meme.  He opened it and spun around to meet her eyes, beaming.

* * *

6O barged into their shared apartment, arms full of groceries.  “2B!  Help!”

2B grabbed the bottle in the crook of her arm before it could slip and fall.  “Did you go grocery shopping at midnight?”

“Just before midnight,” 6O replied promptly.  “I’ve told you before!  HMart drops all their prices like crazy at the end of the day.  This salmon was half off!  Anyway, you’ll never guess what happened in class today.  Wait, here, first, have some of this candy, I had a sample at the store and it’s great.”

6O let the rest of the bags collapse onto the floor and she dug through them until she unearthed a package.  2B accepted a rose-shaped candy and listened as 6O kicked off her shoes and ranted about her crazy literature professor, who had showed up to class five minutes late today, tucking his glasses into his shirt pocket before jumping on the desk and yelling that they would be talking about death.

“Okay, anyway.”  6O frowned into their freezer.  “Why is there never space in here?  Why do I have six different tubs of ice cream?  How was your day, 2B?”

“Fine.”

“You weren’t just sitting on the couch waiting for me to get back, were you?” 6O teased, her hands full of ice cream containers.  “I swear I’ve seen you sit on this couch fewer than five times in the two years we’ve been living here.  You’re usually always in your room.  Oh, damnit, how am I going to get this chicken in here!”

“Nines just left.”

6O squealed, chicken quickly forgotten, spinning around to stare at 2B.  “Did you guys –?”

“ _No_!”  2B blushed furiously.  “I just wanted to do some extra prep for the upcoming tournament.”

“2B,” 6O said, wagging her finger.  “The tournament is three weeks from now, after two of your midterms, and most importantly, it’s all basically a glorious showmatch anyway!  It doesn’t even count for anything!”

“We still have to _show_ something at a showmatch,” 2B insisted.

6O sighed knowingly.  “Oh, 2B.”

2B chose to ignore her and retreat back to her room. 

* * *

“This is a terrible idea,” 21O said as 9S and 6O stared each other down with determination.

“I can _definitely_ outdrink her.”  9S didn’t even break eye contact.  “I’m a lightweight, but I could blow on her and she’d fall over!”

“Oh, it’s so on!  2B, back me up!”  6O huffed, grabbing the first shot glass.  “Let’s go!”

“Hm,” 2B said, being the person who had definitely more than once held 6O’s hair back and rubbed her back as she puked into their toilet.

“This is not the best use of your competitive spirits,” 21O said. 

A2 clasped her on the shoulder.  “No, this is definitely the best use of their competitive spirits.”

“Well, _I’m_ not carrying either of you guys home tonight.”

“I’ll 1v1 anyone on League once we get home tonight,” 9S declared, even as he screwed up his face from the taste of his first shot.  “I’m the best there is.”

A2 waved down the bartender.  “Oh, I can’t _wait_.”

21O just sipped her cocktail and shook her head.  She was still shaking her head an hour later when 2B found herself supporting 9S as they all stumbled out of the bar.

“Our place is closest,” 6O slurred as they started walking.  “I’m gonna crush y’all.”

A2 pointed at her.  “Fuck yes.  I love her.  I love you, 6O.  Gimme that attitude.”

“You’re going to crush a glass of water and then go to sleep,” 21O said, although somewhat unsteadily herself.

“One game,” 6O whined.  A2 nodded emphatically.  “Let’s share my keyboard and mouse!  21O?  A2?”

“I have my laptop, so I’ll just play on the mousepad,” A2 said, trying to fish 6O’s keys out of her jacket pocket as she squirmed unhelpfully.

“I have a spare mouse,” 2B offered.  Her head throbbed and the arm she had under 9S hurt.  “If I can find it.  Maybe.  Actually, is that just unfair?”

 “Nothing’s unfair ‘cause nobody can beat the two of us when we’re together,” 9S mumbled against 2B’s neck, his breath warm.  “Right, 2B?”

“Absolutely,” she said, and giggled a little before catching herself.  She knew the tequila was a mistake.

But she couldn’t find it in herself to complain as 9S clung to her the entire rest of the night, first wiggling into her lap as they played, him on the mouse, her trying to peer over his shoulder to the keyboard.  Then, after they had appropriately crushed their teammates, he whooped and grabbed her hand, raising their hands above their heads in triumph.

“Hell yes,” he said, gesturing a cider that he had found somewhere at her, “Nines and 2B.  We are the 2Best.”  She obligingly clinked her own can against his.

When 2B woke the next morning, her gaze drifted from their still connected hands up to 9S’s face.  He had, at some point, taken off his black shirt and thrown it over his eyes, presumably to block out the overhead light now uselessly still lit in the sunshine.  2B lay quietly for a few moments, just looking, as birds chirped outside and A2 snored on the couch.  As she slipped back into sleep, she could almost swear she felt his thumb, still interlaced with hers, gently rubbing circles on her hand.

When she woke again, only 6O remained, looking at their trashed apartment with a large garbage bag in her hands.

“I’m taking pictures and putting this in the group chat to shame them,” she said despairingly.  “Why didn’t anyone stop us?”

* * *

“I _said_ to watch for the guy coming down the river!”

It had been a hard and long session of scrims, and even 9S had annoyance creeping into his voice.  2B bit her tongue and checked her scoreboard as she waited for her respawn.  “My bad.”

“Can you buy a ward when you come back?  We have _no_ vision besides mine on the map, I don’t know how we’re supposed to be seeing anything.”

“Right.”

“C’mon, 2B, _talk_!  I can’t win this lane by myself!”

“Nines, relax!” A2 barked, and he cursed.  The rest of the game passed with only short, tense orders being issued by 9S, until they finally had to admit defeat. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes until Pod clicked into their voice channel.  “Team,” he started, voice obviously carefully neutral.  “What was that?”

After the debrief, 9S apologized sheepishly, raking a hand through his hair.  “I’m sorry, 2B, I was way too harsh on you.  We’ll work on it together okay?”

2B just shook her head.  “Don’t worry.  It was just in the moment and it doesn’t have to be a big deal.  I’ll pay more attention to the map and your calls in the future.”

9S grinned, high fived her, and then they got dinner together as if nothing had ever happened.

* * *

2B stared at her marine biology textbook, barely aware that she was reading the same paragraph over and over again.

“Alright,” 21O said, tapping her pencil on the page.  “I’ve been watching you mope around for half a week now.  I can’t even study right now because your face is just too sad.  Do you need to talk about it?”

2B just blew out some air. 

“Is this still about that one time Nines snapped at you?  He’s apologized and he’s been totally normal ever since.”

“I know it’s unreasonable,” 2B said.  A beat passed.  “I feel like I let him down.”

“It’s absolutely unreasonable,” 21O repeated.  “You’re breaking down over one tiny comment.  9S has played with us for almost six months now and he’s yelled at you _once_ and he immediately apologized.  It happens in any team game.  What matters is that we can move on from it, so _move on_.”

When 2B didn’t respond, 21O’s pencil only increased in speed, determinedly hitting her textbook.  “2B, I respect you.  I don’t want to overstep any boundaries.”

“Just tell me,” 2B said, resting her forehead against her textbook.  “I already know what you’re going to say, but just tell me anyway.”

“Alright.  We’re very similar, you and me.  We like to follow the rules, keep it chill between everyone.  I know you think – and honestly, I agree, not that it’s helpful right now – that relationships on a team are an unnecessary complication and could ruin everything.  But 2B, listen,” this time 21O tapped her on the head her pencil, “We’re a team, okay?  Hell, after all this time, we’re _family_ now.  Nothing’s going to break us apart.”  A final pencil tap.  “And you’re our captain.  It’s already obvious to all of us that you have a crush on the boy, so there’s no going back.  Go talk to him, 2B.  Bring flowers or something.”

* * *

They won the tournament, of course, and 2B let herself get swept into a now familiar blur of hugs, stage lights, and confetti.  They took their celebratory team dinner, laughing as 9S realized one bite into his steak that he was so hungry he’d forgotten to snap it, and started walking back to the hotel, all buzzing on a victory high.  2B fell into step with 9S, and 6O faded out of their conversation with a wink.

“I’ve got something to show you back at the hotel,” 2B said, trying to stay nonchalant.

9S excitedly grabbed her arm.  “Wait, did you get a chance to buy those candies I told you about earlier?”

“No – okay well, maybe.  But something else too.”

“What is it?”

2B just smiled and shook her head.  She liked to tease him, liked the way he lit up with curiosity.

“Awww, c’mon 2B, you’re gonna keep it a surprise from me?”  9S pouted.  “Is it a fresh new meme?”

“Did you just say that unironically?”

* * *

“– and _then_ he was like, hey, you’re in my compsci 420 class right, and we both snickered, and –”

They had left the others back in the lobby.  2B’s heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest.  Pulling the key card out of her wallet, she immediately fumbled and dropped it.

“Hey, 2B, are you okay?  You’ve been quieter than normal.”  9S had interrupted his story and was looking at her, eyes wide with concern.

“I’m fine,” 2B said, picking up her key card.

“Are you sure?  Do you want to talk about it?  I’m a great support, even off the Rift you know –”

“Nines,” 2B said, and she took his face in her hands and kissed him.

His lips were softer, softer still than she’d been expecting, and when he parted them in a low moan she took the bottom one between her teeth, nibbling.  His sharp gasp made her pull back, hesitant.

“2B,” he breathed.  2B was pleased to see he was smiling and blushing, eyes glowing.  “I … Wow.”

“That really wasn’t the plan at all,” she said, trying not to get overwhelmed by the way he was looking at her.  “There are flowers in the room.”

“That’s why we usually leave the strategy up to me,” he joked, and he held out his hand for her to take.  When she slipped her fingers through his, he tugged her closer, smiling.  “Hey, can we do that again?”

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU that is near and dear to my heart. I'm certainly not collegiate level but there's something magic about having a group of friends who you can game with, compete with, and still meme with at the end of the day. I wanted to give 2B and 9S some of my happiness, as sappy and niche as it is. 
> 
> Next week's will be quite .. experimental. I hope everyone enjoyed this one and can look forward to the next :)


End file.
